Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc thinks that the Scuderia can put “pressure” on polesitter Max Verstappen in Sunday’s Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
Saturday’s qualifying set the stage for a three-way battle for pole between Verstappen, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with the Red Bull driver coming out the other side with the fastest time and his seventh straight pole position (and sixth straight in 2024).
Still, despite Verstappen taking pole, mere hours after winning the Miami Sprint, Leclerc is confident that a fight for the win on Sunday is possible.
Given Verstappen’s dominance in F1 of late, one could question Leclerc’s confidence, but the Monegasque driver saw encouraging signs during his runner-up performance in the Sprint.
“[In] the Sprint race, we were a little bit closer to what we normally see,” Leclerc told media including Motorsport Week after Saturday’s qualifying session.
“However, I also said that Max [Verstappen] wasn’t really happy with his car this morning in the Sprint race, so we need to see how much of a step forward he does tomorrow being happier with the car.
“We did some tuning on our side, we are also confident we did a step forward, so we’ll see.
“But if we have a similar pace like we’ve seen this morning, then I think with strategy you can always put a bit more pressure. I hope that is the case. We’ve got the two cars in the front so it’s a good opportunity.”
A big part of that opportunity will come at lights out at 16:00 local time on Sunday, with claiming the holeshot a vital component in cooking up a Grand Prix win.
Leclerc got a trial run on Saturday morning in Miami as he and Verstappen shared the front row, but he came off second-best in that duel to Turn 1.
The Ferrari driver is ready to go on the offensive on Sunday but also reserved to the notion that he may need to be patient across a full race distance.
“I mean the first corner is obviously always important and Max has a very strong race pace,” said Leclerc.
“Yeah, it’s definitely an opportunity to attack, but that’s only if there is an opportunity to attack.
“This morning there was, I didn’t make the pass, tomorrow if we manage to make it then I will be happy, and if not we’ll be a bit more patient and try to keep those tyres to attack later on.”
The Verstappen defence appears unpenetrable so far in 2024, save for a spectacular rear brake failure at Melbourne, where Leclerc’s team-mate Sainz took advantage to claim victory.
Starting second and third gives Leclerc and his Spanish team-mate every reason Ferrari can capitalise should the Red Bull runaway leader falter.
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